how to buy a house

Real Estate Review: Spring 2018

The spring 2018 real estate market was extra hot in Columbus! A strong seller's market with low inventory and aggressive buyers in multiple offers scenarios dominated the closings in the first half of the year. 

I was able to get my buyers in contract by being very strategic in our approach to the process, preparing them as much as possible, communicating effectively with the other side and negotiating hard! Price isn't everything! Some deals were won with creative possession clauses, flexible closing timelines, lender reassurances and more.

Even though inventory is low, sellers absolutely still need to be represented by the right Realtor who knows how to price, position and market their home properly to as many people as possible. Did you know "FSBOs earn an average of $60,000 to $90,000 less on the sale of their home than sellers who work with a real estate agent, according to the National Association of REALTORS®."?

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In March, I helped very close friends buy their wonderful new home and simultaneously sell the condo they had done an awesome job renovating. When their condo in Worthington Glen sold in one day, it was the highest selling price EVER for the subdivision!! They just finished renovating their new place as well, stay tuned for a before/after blog coming soon!

For those of you who followed my Flip House journey on social media, you know that we successfully sold that fully renovated Clintonville home in June! So proud of the work my investor client did and happy for his first of many investment properties to have closed. Check out some before and after highlights below and view the full reno on my Instagram @Columbesthomes

I had the opportunity to work with many first time home buyers this spring! As exciting as that time can be, it's so important to make sure they understand each decision as they make it since things can move very quickly. Sometimes the pressures of the timelines in this market can put clients in a difficult spot, it's my job to guide them through that and keep them thinking of the big picture. Congratulations to all of my clients so far in 2018!!

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Even with historically low inventory keeping home sales down, sales prices in Columbus set new records in the first half of 2018! The lack of inventory proved frustrating for home buyers, but when they were pre-approved, working with an agent and prepared to move quickly they were able to secure homes. February marked the 85th consecutive month of year over year declines in inventory and left central Ohio with 1.2 months supply of inventory at the current sales pace, according to the Columbus REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service. 

“The lack of inventory in central Ohio is a major obstacle for home buyers in today’s market,” said Walsh. “If you look at the number of homes sold in the first two months of 2018, it’s clear that buyers need to be prepared to move very quickly!”
— 2018 Columbus REALTORS® President Sara Walsh.

March brought the first uptick in inventory with a significant increase of 41.6% more in closed sales than in February! Columbus buyers ate the new inventory up with an average of only 39 days on market for the whole MLS. In April, Columbus was ranked the 4th Hottest Housing Market in the nation by Realtor.com! Inventory continued to increase by 9.1% from March to April with closed sales up 8.8%. 

“In this hectic market place, as professionals, it is our job to take care of all the details, construct a clear contract, and calm the emotional storm that is part of the buying and selling process,” said 2018 Columbus REALTORS® President Sara Walsh. “As REALTORS®, we are finding ourselves in nearly daily communication with our clients who are committed to finding a home or preparing to sell.”

The average sales price in May 2018 was $253,133 which set a record high for the Columbus Multiple Listing Service! Inventory was up 18.8% from April and up 8.2% from May 2017. With all of these buyers ready to purchase and sellers getting motivated by hearing about the great market, spring took off with an incredibly high number of sales especially given the low inventory. The average days on market for May was 27 which tied with August 2017 for the lowest ever on record. 

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If you want a free, no pressure analysis of what your home's current market value is, please click here. Any questions about real estate, becoming a REALTOR or the facts presented please reach out to me at pfjohnson@kw.com or 614-638-5817 - Priscilla Johnson | Columbest Homes


Article shared and all information sourced via the Columbus Board of Realtors. To view the original and for more info see below: 

http://www.columbusrealtors.com/stats/default.aspx

Real Estate Review: December 2016

Here are the national real estate statistics for December 2016:

Home sales ended the year up at 5.6 million! The average home price is down slightly - 1.3% from the previous month at $232,000, but up 6% from this same time last year. 

The national average interest rate for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage is up to 3.94% which is still considered historically low. 

The Columbus Market

Central Ohio housing market saw record highs and lows in 2016!

"Central Ohio ended 2016 with the highest number of home sales and the highest home prices on record. 2016 also saw the lowest months supply and days on market, due to the lowest inventory levels on record for the Columbus REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service. 

The 31,532 home sales recorded in 2016 rose 6.8 percent above 2015 and marked a 58.9 percent increase from our lowest point (2011) since the last housing boom in the mid 2000’s. Of those sales, 26, 832 were single family homes and 4,700 were condominiums." Information via Columbus Board of REALTORS®

"Throughout 2016, the number of homes on the market stayed an average of 21.8 percent lower than in 2015. 

Central Ohio experienced the lowest inventory on record in the month of December 2016 with only 4,653 homes and condos available for sale. This is a 13.8 percent decline from November and 26.1 percent drop from the previous year.

The months supply of inventory at the end of 2016 hit a record low at 1.7 meaning that, if no more homes were added to the market, it would take less than two months to sell all of the homes and condos currently for sale in central Ohio. (A balanced market is usually around 6.5 months supply.)

During 2016, central Ohio homes and condos spent an average of 43 days on the market – 12 days fewer than 2015 and another record low." Info via Columbus Board of REALTORS®

For a quick review of the market statistics check out my infographic below with data from the Columbus Board of REALTORS®:

With the highest sales and prices, yet the lowest inventory, 2016 was indeed a year of record highs and record lows for the Columbus region,” said Gordon. Many houses are selling almost as quickly as they come on the market, which further affirms how attractive and desirable homes are in central Ohio.
— Mic Gordon, 2017 President of Columbus REALTORS®

"There were 1,468 central Ohio homes and condos added to the market in December, which is a 2.5 percent decrease in inventory from one year ago and 33.3 percent lower than the previous month (November).

The average sales price of a home in December was $196,225, up 7.2 percent from last year. The median sales price was $163,000, a 5.2 percent increase over December 2015.

There were 2,252 central Ohio homes and condos sold in December, which is a 1.1 percent increase over the previous month and remains unchanged from December 2015.

According to the latest Housing Market Confidence Index by the Ohio Association of REALTORS®, 94 percent of central Ohio REALTORS® would describe the current housing market as moderate to strong and 92 percent expect home prices to rise over the next year.

When asked how the residential real estate market will perform in 2017, 45 percent said it will improve at a fast to moderate rate, 43 percent said it will continue at its current rate and 12 percent said it will slow at a fast to moderate rate." Info via Columbus REALTORS®

Soaring home prices are another reflection of how hot the central Ohio housing market is, which continues to be beneficial for anyone who might be looking to list their home for sale, With inventory at a record low, there couldn’t be a better time than the present to put your home on the market.
— Mic Gordon, 2017 President of Columbus REALTORS®.

Article shared and all information sourced via the Columbus Board of Realtors. To view the original and for more info see below: 

Current housing report – December 2016
Annual 2016 housing report
All housing reports


Columbus REALTORS® is comprised of over 7,700 real estate professionals engaged in residential sales and leasing, commercial sales and leasing, property management, appraisal, consultation, real estate syndication, land development and more.

The Columbus REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service (MLS) serves all of Franklin, Delaware, Fayette, Licking, Madison, Morrow, Pickaway and Union Counties and parts of Athens, Champaign, Clark, Clinton, Fairfield, Hocking, Knox, Logan, Marion, Muskingum, Perry and Ross Counties.